Overall rating 2.5 stars. What I liked:
Small town cozy read
The cover, the reason I requested this book
Clean read, closed door romances.
What I didn't enjoy: Hudson and Dakota fought and butted heads whole book until literally the final chapter, yet we are told in the brief epiloge they got their "happily ever after" which seemed unlikely given the entirety of the book. I seriously felt no attachment to either character and didn't care if they go together anymore.
Also many redundant phrases and scenarios in this story, a few times I checked to see if I accidentally was backreading the ebook.
Also listed Christian and yet basically zippo faith content.
Thank you netgalley for the ARC, this is my honest

thank you net galley for the arc. i really do like the cover of this book. dakota frustated me with how stubborn she was being. there were moments were i wanted to shake some sense into them both. this is about hudson who return to flowering grove to stop his sister wedding, but runs into his ex fiance. over all ok story.

With This Ring by Amy Clipston

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for letting me review this book. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This story follows two people .. Dakota a seamstress who loves to make and alter wedding dresses who has a bridal shop that she maybe bit off more than she can chew. And Hudson a money driven career guy whose sole goal in life is to provide for his Aunt and Sister and make sure they never have to want for anything.

Dakota and Hudson are childhood sweethearts who broke up seven years ago due to wanting different things in life. With Hudson coming back to his hometown for his baby sisters wedding he runs into Dakota and the fire is still there but both are so hurt and untrusting of each other.

Both of our main characters are well meaning good people who just can’t seem to get out of their own heads and see the world around them. Both are stubborn and can’t accept help or see where they are lacking.

This story is about the importance of communication, growth, understanding and accepting grief, asking for help and ultimately love. Love is the motivator for the whole story.

I really enjoyed this book and the overall story, I thought the writing felt a bit new, like maybe the author is still finding their feet but overall really good enjoyed it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

just wasn't for me and was not a book I personally enjoyed. I know there will be other readers out there that this will fit their style a lot better.

With This Ring was a great romance and read. Amy put me through all the feels in this story and I found myself rooting for the MMC. I enjoyed how they both grew and matured in the story and also loved the side characters and how she built the romance with the plot.

Loved reading the fabulously written Christian romance story. When Hudson returns home for his sister's wedding, he sees Dakota again, his ex-fiancé, and both Hudson and Dakota still have hidden feelings for each other. Read the highly recommended and a must read engaging love story.

This book was so cute and clean and was just the right amount of Hallmark drama that made the book so enjoyable. I tend to struggle with second-chance tropes but this one actually worked pretty well with the plot line. I really enjoyed the characters depth and how the author dealt with the main characters trauma without being overtly detailed. I couldn’t put it down and I loved how lighthearted it was.

I tried this book on a whim and really found myself enjoying it. I’m not even sure why, because the characters really weren’t super likable—especially the lead guy—but something about the whole story is just Winsome and enjoyable. Definitely, a talented author to get me to keep reading about a self centered rich guy who’s more interested in fixing things with money than being honest with his loved ones about his thoughts and feelings, and to make me like him anyway!

Dakota was a fun heroine even though she made some frustrating decisions along the way.

I did truly enjoy the cast of side characters—Kayleigh, Aunt Trudy, Layla, Skye, and so on.

I’ll be trying more of Clipston’s work.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a reading copy. A favorable review was not required.

A sweet, easy romance - another enjoyable story by Amy Clipston.

A second chance romance - a small town setting. Dakota runs a wedding boutique and she's having money issues after a flood ruins most of her stock. She's turning things around when her ex's sister asks her to recreate an amazing wedding dress for her wedding. That puts Dakota and Hudson back in each other's paths - and they end up being neighbors while he's in town. It's a sweet story of second chance love.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

As always, Amy Clipston delivers a heart warming story in With This Ring, the tale of two people how lost each other and find their way back in the midst of a wedding. Full of charm and love and hope, you won't want to miss this one! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!

With This Ring
Amy Clipston

The setting is Flowering Grove, North Carolina. Dakota Jamison helps brides make their day perfect, she always dreamed of running Fairytale Bridal Shop. She doesn’t see herself ever marrying. At one time she was engaged to Hudson Garrity, but he left her in Flowering Grove to pursue his career in New York City. Dakota stays busy between the bridal shop and teaching roller skating lessons at the local rink.
Hudson started his own software company in New York City but now that he’s sold it, he isn’t sure what he should do. He’s met his goal in life; he’s made enough money to keep his little sister and their aunt comfortable for the rest of their lives. He returns to his hometown thinking he can ponder what lies ahead for him. His sister is getting married and needs his help planning the wedding that also puts him in the position of working with Dakota. As the wedding draws closer, Hudson remembers what he loved about Flowering Grove. He and Dakota can’t help but wonder what life could have been like if they had made different decisions.
This story is charming. Like real life the two main characters in this tale are not perfect. This is a second chance romance which isn’t my favorite romance genre however I enjoyed this book. Author Amy Clipston does a superb job in fleshing out the characters; she gives them realistic emotions, behaviors and actions. Both Hudson and Dakota are extremely stubborn. They know they are meant to be together and yet they each hesitate to admit it. I found myself rooting for them throughout this tale.

I liked reading With This Ring, but there were some parts that I really didn’t like and found it hard to get past them. Hudson was infuriating to me. I understood where he was coming from, but he went about it in the worst way. I liked Dakota, but she was so stubborn. I just wish conversations had happened sooner in the book. The epilogue was my favorite chapter and I wish more of the chapters were like that one. 🩷 I also really liked the town of Flowering Grove. It sounded like such a fun small town.

Thank you so much to Thomas Nelson Fiction and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.

With this Ring is a fun and quick read with an extremely satisfying ending. I’ve enjoyed every book I’ve read by this author and this one was no different. The basic premise has broken up couple Dakota and Hudson thrown face to face after years, when one Hudson returns to town to stop a wedding Dakota is helping make happen. To further complicate matters, the wedding is for Hudson’s sister.

So, a LOT going in in this story. Hudson is an extremely successful entrepreneur who has forgotten the importance of humanity. His solution to everything is to throw money at it. This ruffles the feathers of his sister, his aunt and former fiancée Dakota. Dakota has money worries of a different kind as her wedding dress store is struggling after significant rain caused a roof leak.

I thoroughly enjoyed the setting and premise of this book. Hudson doesn’t think his sister’s intended is good enough, but throughout shows that money doesn’t guarantee good behavior as he fails to recognize the need for humanity. He had a very long emotional journey to learn what’s really important. And if I’m honest, I thought he was a little too well written. At times he was so awful I gave up on him, so there’s a lesson for me there, because God didn’t. But with all the main and most secondary characters on different paths to a better future, all cleverly intertwined, this is definitely recommend for romance lovers.

I received a copy of With this Ring from the publisher via NetGalley, the opinions are all my own.

With This Ring
By: Amy Clipston
Pub date: January 1, 2025
Publisher Thomas Nelson
Thank you to @ThomasNelson @austenprose and Amy Clipston for this advanced E-ARC.
I really enjoyed this contemporary Romance novel.
Flowering Grove, North Carolina is a quaint town where everyone knows everyone. For Dakota Jamison she loves this town and has grown up here. Her dream of running her own Bridal Shop along with giving skating lessons at the local rink keep her busy. She has no interest in a relationship as her heart was broken years ago.
Hudson Garrity is the one who broker her heart, so when he returns to their hometown, running into each other was inevitable. He left for the big city so he could support his sister and aunt. He lost his parents at a young age and is back in town for his sister’s wedding.
This novel is about forgiveness, love, second chances and finding out what is truly important in life.

With this Ring by Amy Clipston was a very sweet and heartfelt novel. Dakota's world is turned upside down when her ex-fiancee shows back up in her hometown. Seeing these characters fall back into love with each other after many years was a wonderful journey that was very sweet. It was a quick read that left you with happy feelings akin to a Hallmark movie. You definitely feel many different emotions throughout this book as the characters go through their journeys back to each other.

Dakota y Hudson estaban comprometidos hasta que malos entendidos y falta de comunicación causaron su ruptura. Ahora 7 años después se vuelven a encontrar y se dan cuenta que se siguen queriendo, sin embargo,ambos siguen siendo tercos y tal vez, otra vez, el amor no sea suficiente.


Gracias NetGalley y el autor por el ARC para una reseña honesta.

I love a small town romance especially a second chance one. Amy knocked it out of the ball park for me with this one. Highly recommend. Loved everything about it.

This book was really hard for me to get through. The main characters were hard to connect with, mostly because they didn't seem to have many redeeming values. The dialogue felt generic and didn't move the plot forward, especially when a conversation revolved around something we, as the reader, already knew. I also found many mundane tasks described in great detail that slowed the story down (changing a flat tire, for example). I really wanted to enjoy this because I like the author but the plot and characters felt forced.

I'm not sure where this book is in the editing process but if it's still possible to make some changes, I think this story has potential to be good.

Dakota y Hudson estaban comprometidos hasta que todo salió mal y terminaron. Ella dice que fue culpa de él, y él dice que fue culpa de ella. ¿Quién tiene la razón?

Algo que me gustó fue que ella no saltó de inmediato a los brazos de él; de hecho, hizo algo que he estado pidiendo en muchos libros: actuó indiferente y estaba enojada.

Me estaba gustando mucho la historia, pero cuando llegué a la mitad, me desconecté y, por más que intenté encontrar la razón, no pude.




Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the advance egalley of this book. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This was quite a cute read. We follow Dakota, who is single and a talented seamstress, and runs a bridal shop in a small town. She is incredibly close to her niece. Following an unfortunate event in her bridal shop, she comes face to face with her ex, Hudson. Both Dakota and Hudson are extremely stubborn, but will their past love for each other be reignited?

This was a nice story. I enjoy a book where you are willing for that second chance romance to happen. I did find it a little slower paced in parts, but overall it was a nice story.